1.
Ireland
–
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time

2.
Dublin
–
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle

3.
Ascall mac Ragnaill
–
Ascall mac Ragnaill meic Torcaill, also known as Ascall Mac Torcaill, was the last Norse-Gaelic King of Dublin. He was a member of the Meic Torcaill, a Dublin family of significance since the twelfth century. Throughout much of period, however, the overlord of Dublin was Diarmait Mac Murchada. In 1166, after the death of his close ally Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, High King of Ireland, at this critical point of his reign, Mac Murchada lost the support of the Dubliners, which contributed to his expulsion from Ireland that year. Not long afterwards, however, he made his return with significant military assistance from mercenary Norman adventurers, in the latter half of 1170, Dublin itself fell to the combined forces of Mac Murchada and the powerful Norman magnate Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke. About a year later, not long after Mac Murchadas death, unfortunately for himself, his invasion of Dublin ended in utter failure, and he was executed by the Norman governor of the town. Immediately following his fall, Dublin was besieged by a force of Irishmen and Islesmen. Ascalls father was Ragnall mac Torcaill, a man who may well have ruled as King of Dublin, the men were members of the Meic Torcaill, a substantial landholding kindred in the kingdom. Several members of this Norse-Gaelic family held the kingship in the twelfth century, one such man was Ascalls uncle, Brodar mac Torcaill, King of Dublin, who was slain in 1160. At the midpoint of the century, the kingdom was under the overlordship of Diarmait Mac Murchada. The latters ultimate overking, however, was Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, the year after Brodars death, numerous sources indicate that Mac Murchada, with a force of Dubliners in tow, formally rendered submission to Mac Lochlainn. In 1162, the Annals of Ulster reveals that Mac Murchada gained an almost-unprecedented authority over Dublin, there is reason to suspect that his success stemmed from assistance received from Mac Lochlainn. The latter, for example, is recorded by the source to have laid siege to the town within the year. Mac Murchadas considerable authority in Dublin at this point is apparent through several grants, foundations. Furthermore, two military operations undertaken by Dublins forces in 1164 and 1165 were almost certainly conducted under Mac Murchadas authority. The former campaign, recorded by Brut y Tywysogion and Brenhinedd y Saesson, concerned naval manoeuvres off Wales, in the service of Henry II, King of England. The latter campaign, recorded by the Annals of Ulster, consisted of involvement in the invasion of mainland Scotland, launched by Somairle mac Gilla Brigte. Mac Lochlainn was slain in 1166, leaving Mac Murchada to fend off his own enemies alone, other than Mac Murchada himself, another man making a bid for the high-kingship was Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht

4.
Diarmait Mac Murchada
–
Diarmait Mac Murchada, anglicised as Dermot MacMurrough, Dermod MacMurrough, Dermot MacMorrogh or Dermot MacMorrow, was a King of Leinster in Ireland. In 1167, he was deprived of his kingdom by the High King of Ireland – Ruaidri Ua Conchobair, the grounds for the dispossession were that Mac Murchada had, in 1152, abducted Derbforgaill, the wife of the King of Breifne, Tiernan ORourke. To recover his kingdom, Mac Murchada solicited help from King Henry II of England, in return, Mac Murchada pledged an oath of allegiance to Henry, who sent troops in support. As a further thanks for his reinstatement, Mac Murchadas daughter Aoife was married to Richard de Clare, Henry II then mounted a larger second invasion in 1171 to ensure his control over Strongbow, resulting in the Lordship of Ireland. Mac Murchada was later known as Diarmait na nGall, Mac Murchada was born around 1110, a son of Donnchad mac Murchada, King of Leinster and Dublin. His fathers grandmother Dervorgilla was a daughter of Donnchad, King of Munster and therefore she was a granddaughter of Brian Boru. His father was killed in battle in 1115 by his cousin Sigtrygg Silkbeard, king of the Dublin Vikings, Mac Murchada had two wives, the first of whom, Sadb Ní Faeláin, was mother of a daughter named Órlaith who married Domnall Mór, King of Munster. His second wife, Mór Ní Tuathail, was mother of Aoife / Eva of Leinster and he also had two other sons, Domhnall Caomhánach mac Murchada and Énna Cennselach mac Murchada. Diarmait Mac Murchada is buried in the Cathedral graveyard of Ferns village, after the death of his older brother, Énna Mac Murchada, Diarmait unexpectedly became King of Leinster. This was opposed by the then High King of Ireland, Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair who feared that Mac Murchada would become a rival, Toirdelbach sent one of his allied Kings, the belligerent Tigernán Ua Ruairc to conquer Leinster and oust the young Mac Murchada. Ua Ruairc went on a brutal campaign slaughtering the livestock of Leinster, Mac Murchada was ousted from his throne, but was able to regain it with the help of Leinster clans in 1132. Afterwards followed two decades of a peace between Ua Conchobair and Diarmait. In 1152 he even assisted the High King to raid the land of Ua Ruairc who had by then become a renegade. Mac Murchada also is said to have abducted Ua Ruaircs wife Derbforgaill along with all her furniture and goods, with the aid of Derbforgaills brother, a future pretender to the kingship of Meath. Other sources say that Derbforgaill was not a prisoner and that she remained in Ferns with Mac Murchada in comfort for a number of years. Her advanced age indicates that she may have been a refugee or a hostage, whatever the reality, the abduction was given as a further reason for enmity between the two kings. He also sponsored the career of churchman St Lawrence OToole. He married OTooles half-sister Mor in 1153 and presided at the synod of Clane in 1161 when OToole was installed as archbishop of Dublin

5.
County Meath
–
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Mid-East Region and it is named after the historic Kingdom of Meath. Meath County Council is the authority for the county. The population of the county is 194,942 according to the 2016 census, the county is drained by the River Boyne. Meath is the 14th largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and it is the second largest of Leinster’s 12 counties in size and third largest in terms of population. The county town is Navan, where the county hall and government are located, although Trim, County Meath also has the only two Gaeltacht areas in the province of Leinster, at Ráth Cairn and Baile Ghib. There are eighteen historic baronies in the county and they include the baronies of Morgallion and Ratoath. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, There are 40 elected members in Meath County Council. Fine Gael hold 13 seats, Fianna Fáil hold 10, Sinn Féin hold 8, There are 2 Dáil constituencies, Meath West and Meath East. Before, there was only one constituency, the two current constituencies are within the borders of the county. The constituencies also include part of the county of Westmeath. Together they return 6 deputies to Dáil Éireann, part of the county along the Irish Sea coast, known as East Meath which includes Julianstown and Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington are part of the Louth constituency for general elections. Fianna Fáil currently hold no seats, Fine Gael have 2 in each constituency, Labour has 1 in the East constituency, the county is colloquially known by the nickname The Royal County due to its history as the seat of the High King of Ireland. It formed from the part of the former Kingdom of Mide. The seat of the High King of Ireland was at Tara, the archaeological complex of Brú na Bóinne is 5,000 years old and includes the burial sites of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, in the north-east of the county. It is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site, the Hill of Tara, an ancient historical site. Castles at Trim, Slane, Dunsany, Killeen, religious ruins at Trim, Bective, Slane, Dunsany, Skryne

6.
Kingdom of Dublin
–
Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin, the Norse referred to the kingdom as Dyflin, which is derived from Irish Dubh Linn, meaning black pool. The first reference to the Vikings comes from the Annals of Ulster and it is from this date onward that historians get references to ship fortresses or longphorts being established in Ireland. It may be safe to assume that the Vikings first over-wintered in 840–841 CE, the actual location of the longphort of Dublin is still a hotly debated issue. Norse rulers of Dublin were often co-kings, and occasionally also Kings of Jórvík in what is now Yorkshire, under their rule, Dublin became the biggest slave port in Western Europe. Over time, the settlers in Dublin became increasingly Gaelicized and they began to exhibit a great deal of Gaelic and Norse cultural syncretism, and are often referred to as Norse-Gaels. The extent of the varied, but in peaceful times it extended roughly as far as Wicklow in the south, Glen Ding near Blessington, Leixlip west of Dublin. The Fingal area north of Dublin was named after the Norse who lived there, in 988, Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill led the initial Gaelic conquest of Dublin. In the mid-11th century, the Kingdom of Leinster began exerting influence over Dublin, though the last king of Dublin was killed by the Norman conquerors of Dublin in 1171, the population of the city retained their distinctiveness for some generations. ^ Disputed * Speculative Uí Ímair Irish nobility Norse-Gaels The Pale Downham, Clare, Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland, forte, Angelo, Oram, Richard, & Pedersen, Frederik, Viking Empires. Hudson, Benjamin T. Viking Pirates and Christian Princes, Dynasty, Religion, larsen, Anne-Christine, The Vikings in Ireland. Todd, James Henthorn, Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh, The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, woolf, Alex, Age of Sea-Kings, 900–1300, in Donald Omand, The Argyll Book

7.
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
–
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland was a Welsh-Norman lord notable for his leading role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. Like his father, Richard fitz Gilbert has since become known by his nickname Strongbow which may be a mistranscription or mistranslation of Striguil. Richards cognomen Strongbow has become the name he is best known by, cognomens of other Cambro-Norman and Norman lords were exclusively Norman-French as the nobility spoke French and, with few exceptions, official documents were written in Latin during this period. The confusion seems to have arisen when Richards name was being translated into Latin, in the Domesday Exchequer annals between 1300 and 1304 it was written as Ricardus cognomento Stranghose Comes Strugulliae. It is in the century that we have Richards name finally rendered as Strongbow Earl Richard son of Gilbert Strongbow. Richard was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke, Richards father died in about 1148, when he was roughly 18 years old, and Richard inherited the title count of Strigoil Earl of Pembroke. It is probable that this title was not recognized at Henry IIs coronation in 1154. Richard was in fact, called by his contemporaries Count Striguil, for his lordship of Striguil where he had a fortress at a place now called Chepstow. He saw an opportunity to reverse his bad fortune in 1168 when he met Diarmait Mac Murchada, in 1167, Diarmait Mac Murchada was deprived of the Kingdom of Leinster by the High King of Ireland – Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. The grounds for the dispossession were that Mac Murchada had, in 1152, abducted Derbforgaill, to recover his kingdom, Mac Murchada solicited help from the King of England – Henry II. The deposed king embarked for Bristol from near Bannow on 1 August 1166 and he met Henry in Aquitaine in the Autumn of 1166. Henry could not help him at this time, but provided a letter of comfort for willing supporters of Mac Murchadas cause in his kingdom, however, after his return to Wales, he failed to rally any forces to his standard. He eventually met the count of Striguil and other barons of the Welsh Marches. As Henry’s approval or license to Mac Murchada was a general one, the license he got was to aid Mac Murchada in the recovery of his kingdom of Leinster. Mac Murchada and Richard de Clare raised an army, which included Welsh archers. The force took the Ostman towns of Wexford, Waterford, Richard de Clare, however, was not with the first invading party and arrived later, in August 1170. In May 1171, Diarmait Mac Murchada died and his son, Donal MacMurrough-Kavanagh, Richard de Clare also claimed the kingship in the right of his wife. At this time, Strongbow sent his uncle, Hervey de Montmorency and this was necessary to appease the King who was growing restive at the counts increasing power